


It's a Wrap

by spikesgirl58



Series: 14 days of Christmas [4]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28046700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spikesgirl58/pseuds/spikesgirl58
Summary: Buffy takes a part time job at Christmas.  She ends up meeting a VIM - a very important mom!
Series: 14 days of Christmas [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050131
Comments: 8
Kudos: 8





	It's a Wrap

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thespian15](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=thespian15).



The one problem about being The Slayer, The Chosen One, was the crappy pay, of which there was none. The phone company didn’t care that she could slay demons with one hand behind her back, or had defeated world-ending gods. Nope, at the end of the month, they wanted their money, as did the power company, the nice people at the bank, and the less nice people at the IRS.

Instead, she took jobs, any job that would help make ends meet. It was particularly tough at Christmas. Her sister deserved a nice one. Hell, she deserved a nice one, but that wasn’t going to happen unless she made it happen.

She looked at the gaily colored Christmas paper and the bows that were stacked beside her chair. In a small wire basket were pens, scissors, gift tags and tape. To her right was a large sign advertising her services as a gift wrapper. The music was overly joyful and the colors were so bright it hurt her sleep-depraved eyes. She picked up a half-eaten candy cane and broke off a piece.

“Being an adult sucks,” she muttered as she stuffed the candy in her mouth. She was startled when the woman sitting beside her started laughing. She’d arrived just a few minutes ago and Buffy was torn between her wallowing in self-pity and trying to be polite. 

“Ain’t it the truth? If someone had told me that being an adult meant figuring out what was for dinner every night, I’d have passed.” Like, Buffy, the woman had blonde hair and her eyes were kind, if a bit overly made up

“I hear you. And the bills. No one ever told me about those. I wish they’d offered that class in school.”

“Can’t now, can they? All the women, we’re empowered and all. Mostly, we’re just exhausted for doing everything while our blokes sit on their arses. Rough day, luv?’

“That sounds like something Spike would ask me. Are you English?”

“That’s right. I didn’t introduce myself, did I? Jackie Tyler.”

“Buffy Summers and the outskirts of Sunnydale are as far as I get.”

“I live in London most of the time.”

“Mmm, that sounds wonderful. I bet you have great shopping there. And theatre. I miss…” Buffy closed her eyes, thinking of how nice it would be to be anywhere but here, then she sat back in surprise. “Wait, what are you doing in Sunnydale?”

“I got a ride with a bloke and he has something to do. He told me to stay put.” Jackie opened up one of the bags and took out a sweater. “This beats sitting in my hotel room staring at the walls.”

“I dunno,” Buffy said, reaching for a piece of precut paper. “That actually sounds pretty good right now. Sleeping in, ordering room service.”

“Trust me, it gets lonely.” She folded the shirt and put it in a box. “I like people.”

“I used to like people until I had to deal with them every day. Fast food sort of beats it out of you.”

“You? I would have pegged you for an office type or a model with your looks and brains.”

Buffy laughed then and deftly wrapped the gift. One nice thing about being The Slayer, she didn’t need to measure. It was as if all the calculations were done for her and all she had to do was react. “No, I’m not much good at anything. I’ve tried a bunch of things, but there’s not much here.”

“Why not leave?”

“I tried that once and tossed everything away. Changed my name and it didn’t help. She considered her color choice of bows. “My friends and my family are here, so here I sit.”

“I know what you mean. My daughter Rose was a shop girl. She was good at it too. She had a lovely boyfriend. I love Mickey.” She taped the paper in place. “Next thing you know she’s running around with someone who calls himself a doctor, but I don’t think he ever went to medical school.” She stuck a bow on the package and put it back in the bag. “Yet, when she comes home, it’s glorious, and I always think maybe, just maybe this time she’ll stay.”

“But?”

“Then he calls and off she goes. All I can do is wait and carry on, hoping she’ll come back again.”

“She’s lucky to have you. I lost my mom last year. I feel so rudderless now, but I need to be strong for my sister and my friends, they all need me to be happy.”

“And what do you need?”

What did she need? That was a good question. “How do you manage it all?”

Jackie laughed. “By not trying.” She stapled the sales receipt to the bag and set it aside. “I’m not joking. You don’t need to do all of it.”

“The nice people at the bank might disagree with you.” Buffy’s senses tingled and she glanced up as Xander and Anya approached her table, arm-in-arm and so obviously in love. All she had was a lovesick vampire waiting in the wings for her and the one man she wanted, she couldn’t have – ever. “Hey, guys, good shopping?”

“Hi, Buffy, we’re here to help supplement your income since you are poor and struggling.” Anya had no filters and Buffy knew it. 

Xander managed to look chagrined and hugged Anya hard. “Anya, remember our little talk about being sensitive?”

“You mean when we were in the shower and I stuck my finger—“

“No, ah, no, the later one!” Xander interrupted with a self-conscious laugh. “What a kidder. Anyhow, Buffster, how about a wrap job.”

Anya looked totally confused as Xander took her shopping bags from her. “I thought it was called—“

“And with that, we are off to do more shopping. Okay if I’ll pick those up later.”

“That will be fine. And, thanks, Xander.” Buffy smiled at him and waved as he led Anya, still chattering, away like a magpie. She taped numbers to the bag, not that she needed to. Like most Slayers, she had very good recall.

“Friends of yours?” Jackie asked as she began to wrap.

“Well, one friend, one annoyance, but they sell as a pair these days.” She sighed. 

“I could sort of tell that. The girl, she’s a little – different.”

“That’s one word for Anya. She’s a… foreigner, but she’s got the whole capitalism angle figured out.”

Almost immediately, Giles and Dawn took their place.

“Buffy! Buffy! Buffy! Have you seen the toy department’s display? They have kittens in the window!” Dawn was practically jumping up and down. “Real kittens. They are so cute!”

Buffy glared at Giles who did his best to look innocent and started to clean his glasses. “Dawnie, what are you doing here?” Her eyes narrowed. “Have you done your homework?”

Dawn rolled her eyes as only a teenager could. “Yes, slave driver, and Giles checked it for me.”

Buffy studied Giles for a minute. “You… you understand it?”

He replaced his glasses and sighed. “I am confident in confessing that I will never totally grasp the concept of New Math.”

Buffy glanced over at her co-worker. “Jackie, this is my sister and my… trainer, Rupert Giles. He’s English, too.”

“Oh, hello,” Giles smiled as he shook Jackie’s hand. “English?”

“London and thereabouts.”

“You seem familiar… do you have a daughter about Buffy’s age?”

“I do, indeed. Rose.”

“I think I’ve bumped into her and—“

“The Doctor,” they finished together. “Is he here?”

“Not yet.”

Giles’s smile grew. “Perhaps you could join us for Christmas dinner tomorrow if he’s a no show. It would be nice to have someone else at the table who appreciated a good Christmas pudding.”

Buffy tried not to wince. What they had would barely do them, much less guests. “Yeah, that would be great. Jackie, do you get New Math?”

“I’m still reserved about the old version. You don’t understand it?”

“None of us do. And thereby hangs yet another high school mystery. The unsolvable case of New Math.”

“New Math? I love New Math.” Willow was suddenly there. “It’s all so happy and romantic with the shifting around and pairing up of integers and…” Willow trailed off as she realized everyone was staring at her. “Hi, Buffy!”

“Hi, Willow. Everything okay at home? Where’s Tara?” 

“She’s buying my Christmas present. And there’s nothing to worry about at home. Everything is great. Perfect even!” Her blush started to color her entire face. She adjusted her muffler self-consciously.

“Willow, you should know better than to try and lie to me. What’s wrong?”

“Um, the refrigerator is making that funny sound again and I think the microwave is planning the murder of the dishwasher.”

Buffy could hear the expenses ringing up in her head. “Okay, I’ll call someone tomorrow. Guess we’ll be washing dishes by hand.” 

“Okay, um, here, could you wrap these?”

“Of course.” She wasn’t permitted to say anything else.

“And these, too?” Dawn handed Buffy several bags. 

“How are you paying for all of this?” Buffy demanded, looking in one of them. She had hoped that Dawn’s early shoplifting habit had been nipped in the bud.

“I got a part-time job at the Magick Store.” Dawn looked very pleased with herself. “And I’m babysitting a lot. Willow, have you seen the kittens?”

“There are kittens?” And they were gone.

Giles reached out and patted her shoulder. “For what it’s worth, Buffy, she is indeed working very hard at the store and I know for a fact she is babysitting when she said she is. Spike has been keeping an eye on her.” He hurried after the young girl.

“That makes me feel loads better.” Buffy set the bags down and smiled sadly. “Well, at least we have something to do now.” It was better than just sitting here and imagining how better everyone else’s Christmas was going to be. She’d pulled a double shift at the Doublemeat Palace. Of course with the money she was making, she’d at least be able to make the house payment and buy some groceries.

Buffy pulled a small box out of the bag. It had a heart-shaped locket inside. Someone was getting a special treat. “You ask me what I need. I need—“

“Bleeding nothing. She is perfect like she is.”

“Hello, Spike.” Buffy let her shoulders sag. The last thing she needed was his swash and swagger.

“Spike?” Jackie stood up. ”William, is that you?”

“Jackie? Jackie Tyler?” The vampire was around the table and hugging her. Buffy felt a pang of sadness. No one hugged her like that. Well, no one living, at least. “What are you doing here? Last time I saw you, you were in the Powell Estate.”

“Still am. The Doctor.”

“The Doctor. Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“What doctor? Doctor who?” Buffy interrupted, standing. She sounded like a petulant child, but she didn’t care.

“You’d like him, Slayer. He moves around a lot, though.”

“Slayer?” Jackie looked at her again. “ _The_ Slayer?”

Buffy resisted the urge of putting a bow on her head to see if it attracted any attention. “Yeah, a little bit worn for the wear.” She sat back down. 

“Wow… and you know Spike.”

“Everyone knows Spike.”

“You hang about for a few centuries, you meet people, Slayer.”

“You meet people. I wrap packages.” She started on the next box. 

“When are you off?”

“Another hour.”

“Let’s go talk over good times… like remember that time in Guernsey?”

“Don’t get me started. Buffy, would you like to come with us?”

“I can’t. I have to go to my other job after this.”

“We’ll drink to you in spirit then!”

Those words echoed in Buffy’s ears as she walked home from the Doublemeat Palace. She smelled of hamburgers and onions. It clung to her like a wet plastic shower curtain. 

The lights were still on in the house. Of course, why would they turn the lights off when they weren’t using them? They didn’t pay the electricity bill. Buffy’s shoulders sagged and she brushed away a hot tear. She was just so tired.

“Hey, I’m home,” she murmured as she entered. She headed straight for the stairs, intent upon a few hours of sleep before her next shift. And somehow, she was going to need to manage to decorate the poor excuse of a tree she’d rescued from the tree lot and set out her gift to Dawn. Hopefully, Dawn would understand.

“Buffy, could you come in here, please?” Giles called to her from the living room and had it been anyone else, she would have refused.

“I don’t feel like training, Giles…” Her voice faded at the image before her. The tree had been replaced by a larger tree, now brightly decorated and glistening with lights. There were piles of gifts around the tree and even overly filled stockings hung by the fireplace.

“Merry Christmas, Buffy.” Giles gave her a warm hug, but Buffy couldn’t react. She wanted to, but she was stunned.

“Open our gift first!” Willow handed her a package and Buffy took it, almost unseeing. “Open it!”

“Okay…” She did as she was asked and started at the envelopes. “I don’t…”

“We took all your bills and paid them for the next three months.”

Xander was next. “And Anya and I are taking care of your mortgage payment this month.”

“I renegotiated your loan and got them to lower your payments, too.” Anya announced, proudly. “Banks are fascinating places. All that money.”

Tears started streaming down Buffy’s face. “Oh, you guys….”

“Wait, there’s more.” Dawn grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen “Giles and I got you, well, us a new refrigerator… well, mostly Giles did, but I helped.”

“Indeed you did. Having to decide upon the color and the ice dispenser shouldn’t be left to the layman. And the repairman will be here on Monday to fix the dishwasher.”

“I don’t… I don’t know what to say.”

“Start with thank you, but wait until after ours.” Spike handed Buffy a box. “Jackie asked me to give that to you. She’s off and away again.”

“What more could I want?” She slipped the ribbon off and opened the box. “Oh, there’s a card… a room card?” She picked up a piece of paper. “Dear Buffy. My room is paid for for the rest of the month. Spike is going to take your patrols and I’ve arranged with your manager for you to have the week off starting now… Love, Jackie. P.S. Thank you for saving the world.” Now Buffy started to cry in earnest and her friends moved in around her, hugging her and laughing. 

One of the best things, she decided then and there, about being The Slayer were her friends. Her lovely, lovely friends.

  
  


  
  



End file.
